Barrett

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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Smart Phone Camera Used to Determine Ion Concentration in Saliva Based on Fluorescence Level

Description
The use of saliva sampling as a noninvasive way for drug analysis as well as the monitoring systems within the body has become increasingly important in recent research. Because of the growing interest in saliva, this project proposes a way to analyze sodium ion concentration in a saliva solution based…

The use of saliva sampling as a noninvasive way for drug analysis as well as the monitoring systems within the body has become increasingly important in recent research. Because of the growing interest in saliva, this project proposes a way to analyze sodium ion concentration in a saliva solution based on its fluorescence level when in the presence of a sodium indicator dye and recorded with a smartphone camera. The dyed sample was placed in a specially designed housing to exclude all ambient light from the images. A source light of known wavelength was used to excite the fluorescent dye and the smartphone camera images recorded the emission light wavelengths. After analysis of the images using ImageJ, it was possible to create a model to determine the level of fluorescence based on sodium ion concentration. The smartphone camera image model was compared to readings from a standard fluorescence plate recorder to test the accuracy of the model. The study found that the model was accurate within 5 % as compared to the fluorescence plate recorder. Based on the results, it was concluded that the method and resulting model proposed in this study is a valid was to analyze saliva or other solutions for their sodium ion concentration via images recorded by a smartphone camera.
ContributorsSmith, Catherine Julia (Author) / Antonio, Garcia (Thesis director) / Caplan, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Modeling SDF-1α Chemotactic Gradient Formation After Traumatic Brain Injury

Description
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of injury related death in the United States. The complexity of the injury environment that follows TBI creates an incomplete understanding of all the mechanisms in place to regulate chemotactic responses to TBI. The goal of this project was to develop a…

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of injury related death in the United States. The complexity of the injury environment that follows TBI creates an incomplete understanding of all the mechanisms in place to regulate chemotactic responses to TBI. The goal of this project was to develop a predictive in silco model using diffusion and autocrine/paracrine signaling specific to stromal cell derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) gradient formation after TBI and compare this model with in vivo experimental data. A COMSOL model using Fickian diffusion and autocrine/paracrine reaction terms was generated to predict the gradient formation observed in vivo at three physiologically relevant time points (1, 3, and 7 days). In vivo data was gathered and analyzed via immunohistochemistry and MATLAB. The spatial distribution of SDF-1α concentration in vivo more consistently demonstrated patterns similar to the in silico model dependent on both diffusion and autocrine/paracrine reaction terms rather than diffusion alone. The temporal distribution of these same results demonstrated degradation of SDF-1α at too rapid a rate, compared to the in vivo results. To account for differences in behavior observed in vivo, reaction terms and constants of 1st-order reaction rates must be modulated to better reflect the results observed in vivo. These results from both the in silico model and in vivo data support the hypothesis that SDF-1α gradient formation after TBI depends on more than diffusion alone. Future work will focus on improving the model with constants that are specific to SDF-1α as well as testing methods to better control the degradation of SDF-1α.
ContributorsFreeman, Sabrina Louise (Author) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Thesis director) / Caplan, Michael (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05